Thursday, January 19, 2012

BB Cream!

We should all know what a BB cream is by now. They have been circling the globe and now on to the U.S. I'm pretty sure this is going to be the year of the BB Cream! Blemish Balm and/Beauty Balm or whatever you want to call it or market it as is a multi-functional/purpose cream that should serve as a protectant from the sun, a blemish/skin healer, some have whitening or brightening properties, primer and foundation.

They once came in a standard shade and now are offered in light, medium and dark (but not super dark) in most brands. Some are dewy, some are matte, some are really thick, some are thinner. There are just so many to try out and liking them is really based on individual preference, as with all cosmetics really.

I have tried a few but the ones I have in my rotation right now are Missha Perfect Cover BB cream in 3 different shades, Lioele Beyond the Solutions BB cream and Garnier Skin Renew Miracle Perfector. I want to go through what I like about them and what I don't like about them.

I really have no idea what the color of my skin is in terms of MAC numbers. I suppose it is NC20, maybe a little lighter. I have reddened areas on my cheeks and like I've said way too many times before, my neck is sheer white. I used to think I was cool toned because of my pink/red cheeks but I think I lean towards warm/neutral now. I like to wear silver jewelry but I gravitate towards cool colors for clothing and eyes though I am branching out more with browns on both my eyes and clothing.

It seems every time I get color matched (I've never been in a MAC store, but other places) the makeup person will always put on a shade of foundation that I feel looks way too dark. I'm not sure if that is the "ideal" look I should be going for but to me, it looks unnatural. But then again, maybe I use foundation that is too light? But I can always warm it up by mixing in a darker foundation or bronzer so I prefer lighter I guess.

My skin is oily/combination and most foundations tend to oxidize on me, another reason why I like to go lighter as they will get darker/orange gradually. Then eventually I am horrified by the the orange face in the mirror. Normally, I get shiny within 2-3 hours of cleansing my face. It really depends on the products I use, ones that strip the natural oils of my face naturally cause my skin to produce more oily quicker. Summer in NC is tough on my skin as it is always shiny and oily. It doesn't matter what powder or products I use. The humidity is unstoppable! I love my fall/early winter skin. The air is dryer and my skin is what I would say ideal. I like being able to use thicker creams that I feel have more anti-aging benefits whereas in the summer it has to be oil free all the way.

I digress, this was about BB creams right???

My favorite BB cream out of the bunch is Lioele Beyond the Solutions BB Cream. It has been a staple for me in my beauty repertoire for most of 2011. It has a clean scent, almost reminiscent of the CoverGirl foundation I used back in the day, it was either acne controlling or oil free. They have renamed it to Clean foundation I believe but whenever I smell that scent it brings me back to 8th grade! lol

I like to mix a little moisturizer with it to help spread it evenly around my face and I find that my fingers work amazing well or the Advanced Techniques buffing brush to work it in. I then will pat my face to further work it into my skin. You probably do not need this step but I like to do it to ensure that everything is even. I then will blot my face with an oil controlling tissue or just some kleenex to further absorb excess oil/residue that hasn't fully absorbed into my skin.

After it is set with a powder, this BB cream is flawless. It is perfect for my summer skin, by the end of the summer it is too light (maybe the lightening properties?) right now it is getting a bit dark so I adjust what color powder I need to set it. This is not a good day time summer foundation for me as it is thicker/heavier. For me, mineral powder foundations work best for me in the summer heat.

I bought Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream when Lioele was just too dark for me. Missha is just as "heavy" but it spreads just a tad easier. But I can also use more of it as it is a slightly better match for me so it really gives me a truly flawless look. A downside to using more, I get shiny sooner and it doesn't last as long. It goes on grey but it oxidizes to match my skin perfectly.

Here are some photos of the oxidation. It might be difficult to tell from the from the swatches on my arm but on my face it is really noticeable and they might even oxidize slightly more.

From left to right: Fresh swatch of Missha #21, then the oxidized swatch that had been about 10 minutes. The second pairing is an oxidized Lioele and then a fresh swatch.

When I have extra time, which is rare, I contour using Lioele, Missha #21, & Missha #23. I use Lioele all over, Missha #21 under the eyes and in the triangle under my eyes down the nose and I little on my chin and forehead and #23 on my temples and hollows of my cheek bones and jaw line. It takes a lot of blending. I am just using tiny tiny amounts of them as a little goes a long way.

Since I just recently acquired Garnier and it is just too dark/orange for me, I really haven't found a way to use it on my winter light skin yet. I did notice that after washing it off my skin looked really nice so I may just use it as a treatment for now. I've never really noticed a difference in my skin after using Lioele or Missha.

Garnier is not as heavy and the coverage is minimal compared to the real BB creams but I think it will work for me in the summer as a quick wash of color before heading out for the day. Also another interesting aspect of the Garnier is that it goes on slightly orange but sets to a nice non-orangey color. It's very intriguing.

There are a few more BB Creams I would like to try however. Dr. Jart, MAC, Fairydrops, Lioele Water Drops... I like to order my BB Cream from PrettyandCute.com. They seem to have reasonable prices and sales and I've received free full size products (samples?) in my orders so I really like them. lol

I also constantly go on the Illamasqua website to order some Skin base. Though it's not a "BB cream" many are comparing it to one. It doesn't have an spf so there is no white cast. Which I really haven't found in Lioele or Missha probably since I use such a light layer. But with Illamasqua I have no idea what color to choose. I suppose I would be a #6 based on what I've seen on Pixiwoo but my history with foundations has been problematic as I fall in between shades so I probably need a #5 or #6 and maybe even a #7. Too risky to order as it is expensive and coming from the UK! lol

A little disclaimer...

As you may already know, all product reviews and opinions expressed on Savvy Beauty are that of my own. I love all things beauty and whether or not I buy products for myself or on the rare occasion that I receive a product for review, only honest opinions based upon my personal experience will be shared.